TPIB: Flashback Movie Nights

I LOVE having movie nights with my teens. It doesn’t matter what type of movie it is, it seems like we always have a good time, and it is one of my least labor-intensive programs because I find the movie, double check that it works with my umbrella movie licensing agreement, figure out a simple craft that they can do while watching or just have tables out so they can doodle or do homework or duel, and BOOM, instant program!

It seems that recently with my teens the older the movie is, the better the response. I’m not sure why that is. It may be that they’re not familiar with the older movies (when we watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, there was only one in the audience that knew the movie). It may the fact that the areas where I’ve always worked are the areas that give the movie industries nightmares and me explaining over and over that it has to be legally in Wal-Mart and Target before I can show it or I’ll get fired. (Miss, I have The Hobbit on DVD, can we watch it? My uncle got it at the gas station, and it’s even in English. Or what about Warm Bodies? He can get that one, can we watch it for our February movie?). I’ve shown Where is Roger Rabbit?, Ferris Bueller,Cry Baby, and as much as I want to show them The Lost Boys, The Blues Brothers or The Breakfast Club, I’m prevented by my current system from showing R-rated movies, even with permission slips in hand.So I turned to yalsa-bk, ya-yaac, and pubyac for ideas, and here is what the Hive Mind came up with. Thanks to Suzanne Kirk, Christina Thurairatnam, Heather Booth, Skye Townsend, Erin Marsh, Tahleen Shamlian, Rachelle M, Karl G. Siewert, Kathleen Kozlowski, Bonnie Svitavsky, Rebecca Denham, Ramona Price, Stefanie Lawson, Donna Block, Drue Wagner-Mees, David S., Clay Kriese, and Elyse Barrere for their suggestions. Have more suggestions? Share in the comments below?Special attention: While we can always tie in movies to books, themes, or common core area that we choose (because as teen specialists, we are AWESOME), I have marked those movies that are based on books in BOLD COLOR. These were located using the wonderful resource, Based On The Book.Notes: Movies that are not covered by Movie Licensing USA (the umbrella license that my library uses) as of January 16, 2013 are in underlined italics. If you have questions about whether they’re covered by your license, contact your umbrella license provider. Don’t get in trouble over showing a movie without a license.Possible program tie-ins are in (parentheses).

Comments

Great article! We just started up our movie nights once a month again due to a previous lack of interest. Anything we can do to make them popular once again is worth a shot! Also great for SRP – basically free and able to do once or twice a month!

Uncle Buck would be fabulous! I can't decide on my favorite scene in that- the interrogation scene with the young Macaulay Culkin or when Uncle Buck crashes the daughter's party and everyone hits the ground because they think the car backfire is a gun shot…

Time Bandits is another fav for me, but it's not covered under my license…. Neither is the Princess Bride, much to my everlasting disappointment.

Thanks! My teens love movie nights, especially when I can combine them with crafts or other activities that they can do WHILE watching the movie (card or board games, etc.)… They seem to need that extra input sometimes, but still want to be together….

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